Managing Your WordPress Blog | Scalable Social Media - Internet Marketing ServicesScalable Social Media

On June 6, 2013
By Tina Gammon
In Social Media Tips
With 5 Comments

Social Media Content – Why Quality Matters

Some say “content is king” when marketing your business. We say QUALITY content is king. Whether you’re blogging, updating a status, or tweeting for your business – what you share matters. So often when people don’t get the engagement they want from social media marketing, the problem lies with their quality of their content.

Just like most things in life, much of your social media marketing ROI is dependent on what you put into it. In this case, we mean the quality and consistency of the content used in particular. Here are a few areas every business owner should evaluate from time to time to keep quality in their content.

Tips to Evaluate Your Social Content

Is Your Content Consistent? This is a big one. Higher engagement results when fans can depend on your content. You should post to social media platforms at least once a day. In fact, many companies find improved benefit in posting multiple times a day. This will help establish your company’s presence and credibility. Insider Time-Saver Tip: Use Buffer or

Image Copyright Infringement – Part of the Template?

So, you followed the rules and think you did everything right, but suddenly you have a letter from Getty Images or other owner of image copyrights demanding payment for images you used without permission. Wait! What?

You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. Here’s what may have happened. You, or your website designer may have used a purchased template for your website. No harm in that – no sense reinventing the wheel! However, if you didn’t read the fine print, or your template provider failed to reveal that:

“All images used in our website templates are copyrighted by their respective owners and are subject to limited use. You do not have rights to reuse the images in their modified or present forms anywhere else including other templates or websites.” (DreamsTime), you could be in trouble.

How do they know I’ve used a copyrighted image?

Reportedly, they use programs such as Picscout Image Tracker which show where their images appear online. Interestingly, that company also offers a service that gets people in touch …

How do I Know if this Comment is Spam?

Isn’t it great when, after months of faithful blogging, you finally get your first reader comment? If you use WordPress, you got an email message telling you you got a “New comment on your post…”

But, then you look at the sender’s name. And it’s gibberish, it’s obscene, or it’s something like a recent favorite of mine, “beats by dr dre cheap”. Sigh. It’s blog comment spam.

Or, maybe it’s a person’s name, and you are feeling hopeful. Then you read the body of the comment and it’s, “Hі therе wοuld уou minԁ letting me knoω whіch ωeb hοѕt yοu’re working with? I’ve loаԁed уour blog іn 3 dіfferent intеrnet bгowsers anԁ I muѕt ѕау this blog loads a lot quіcker then most. Сan you suggest a goοd web hoѕtіng pгoviԁer at a faіг priсe? Kudos, I аppreciate it!” or, it’s full of grammatical and spelling issues.

Some are even trickier – they try to flatter you, by telling you how great your blog is, or they ask your advice about …

How to set up a temporary wordpress site

On March 20, 2013
By Alisa Meredith
In Social Media Tips
With 1 Comment

How to Install and Use WordPress on a Hosting Account with no Domain

Why would you want to do that? If you are developing a new site or a big site redesign and you’re not ready to point the domain name to the new files, you might create a hosting account to house your work in progress. Or, maybe you just want to play with a new theme and you don’t intend to ever use the site – no need to register a domain name!

We use HostGator, and it’s very easy to create a new account and install WordPress using the “Fantastico Deluxe” app. But then, if you go to the URL for your test site, it’s a mess. No theme, no way to log in. Here’s how to fix that:

Go to phpMyAdmin in your cPanel and select your database on the left. If you do not know which database is the correct one, you can find this in your wp-config file. It’s probably something obvious like, “username_wp1″ Click “wp-options” on the left in phpMyAdmin Change the “SiteURL” field on page one, and the “Home” field on page two to the …

On February 18, 2013
By Alisa Meredith
In Managing Your WordPress Blog
With 12 Comments

Ten Simple Ways to Get More People to Your Blog

Need to get more visitors to your blog?

One visitor recently shared with us that his biggest marketing challenge is “writing blog posts and understanding what I need to do for proper SEO/SMO”. He downloaded our Perfect Blog Post Checklist, so we know he’s now well on his way, but we felt we could address the idea of SEO for blogging more directly. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SMO (Social Media Optimization) both have as their aim driving more traffic to a website or blog.

Traffic – Generating Blog Tips

Write Good Stuff

OK, this should go without saying, so it doesn’t get a number . Write something that people want to read about.

#1 Know Your Keywords

The Google AdWords Keyword Tool can help you determine which words and phrases to use. Another method is to respond to an urban legend or commonly posted and reposted erroneous message on Facebook and use some of the exact phrases you see used over and over.

#2 Use Your Keywords

Use your keywords near …

On January 31, 2013
By Alisa Meredith
In Social Media Tips
With 4 Comments

Five Reasons Why You Need a Mobile Website Now!

Why Go Mobile? It’s About The Numbers!

Recent studies show that approximately 30% of the visitors coming to your website are using a mobile device. Indeed, our own small-scale study found similar rates. Since the majority of Americans now own a smartphone, we can only expect that to increase. In fact, mobile visits to our site have more than doubled in the last year.

Your Website Doesn’t Translate Well to Mobile – And People Are Leaving

Take a look at the image below. The site on the left (ours), has a mobile version. The one on the right does not. Which would you rather browse?

In the context of Google Analytics, “Bounce rate” is the percentage of visits wherein the visitor went never got past the first page they came to on your site. Our small study showed that the average bounce rate for mobile visitors was about 15% higher than those visiting from a desktop computer. Total time spent on the site by mobile visitors …

On January 28, 2013
By Alisa Meredith
In Social Media Tips
With No Comments

How to Write the Perfect Blog Post

Nothing is perfect, you say? Well, maybe not, but your blog posts can be awfully close! Before you write anything, make sure you have a good topic. We’ve written extensively on how to find great blog topics. Ready to write? Let’s go!

Do Your Research

Not with a view to using other people’s content, but to gather facts and ideas. You’ll cite those in your article or as “related articles” at the end of your post, so keep track of them. Make sure that any statistics you use are recent. Check your keyword list and choose one or two you’ll feature (Don’t have a keyword list? We can help.)

Create a Powerful Blog Post Title

Use your keywords, but naturally. Will it draw in the casual browser? Don’t be afraid to be a bit provocative. Avoid using a confusing or irrelevant title. You may attract attention, but not of the right variety! “How to…” and “Ten Ways to…” “Why …

On January 3, 2013
By Alisa Meredith
In Social Media Tips
With No Comments

Never Run out of Blogging Ideas Again – Ten Tips

Some days the ideas flow freely. Other days, nothing. Print this one and put it on the wall and you’ll never run out of blogging ideas again!

Learn from Your Own History

Look at your website analytics and see which articles get the most attention with the lowest bounce rate. Google analytics now blocks access to more than half of the keywords that lead people to our site, so we find it more helpful to look at our most popular pages.

Because we are in the social media industry, our most popular posts tend to be “How to” articles, particularly about Facebook (our post about converting a Facebook profile to a page continues to be a hot topic).

Debunking Common Misconceptions and Urban Legends

You know it when you see it – that alarmist rant that shows up on your friend’s Facebook updates or in your inbox. It’s usually about some villainous company, a baby-snatching eagle or other over-the-top claim. Our post examining whether Facebook was requiring page owners to pay to get …

On November 12, 2012
By Alisa Meredith
In Managing Your WordPress Blog
With No Comments

Add a Custom 404 Page Not Found Error Page

Have you ever clicked on a link that leads nowhere, or typed in a URL just a little bit wrong? Well, it happens to us all! And when we do, it’s nice to have something other than a generic, “404 Page Not Found” error to look at.

Why is it called a “404″?

A 404 page is called that because in response to a request for a missing page, webservers send back a HTTP status code of 404 to indicate that a page is not found. Exciting, huh?

Why Create a Custom Page Not Found Page?

A custom 404 page is an opportunity to show your company’s personality with an apology, a little humor, and suggestions to help the visitor find what they were looking for. After all, the very last think you want them to do is to leave!

Elements of a Good 404 Page Not Found Page

Say you’re sorry or acknowledge the problem (even if it’s not your fault, you’re acknowledging the inconvenience). Give suggestions for finding the desired content. Add a search option if possible. This …